Stabilization boom for aircraft encapsulated seat



Jan. 2, 1962 STABILIZATION BOOM FOR AIRCRAFT ENCAPSULATED SEAT w. H. SIMMONS ET AL 3,015,462

Filed Feb. 1, 1960 INVENTORA WILLIAM H. SIMMONS ALBERT M. STOTT ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,015,462 STABILIZATION BO DM FOR AIRCRAFT ENCAPSULATED SEAT William H. Simmons, Feasterville, and Albert M. Stott, Clifton Heights, Pa., assignors to the United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Filed Feb. 1, 1960, Ser. No. 6,078 2 Claims. (Cl. 244122) (Granted under Title 35, U.S. Code (1952), sec. 266) The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes without the payment to us of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates to the construction of an actuated type stabilization boom such as is used with a seat or capsule to be ejected from an aircraft or other flight vehicle. An object is to simplify the construction and operation of such a boom by making it unnecessary to fold the stabilizing fins at the outer end of such a boom for storage. Heretofore such fins have had to be stored, folded within the boom which in turn was retracted against the back of the seat, entailing a somewhat complicated construction for enabling those folded fins to be opened for use.

According to the present invention such boom and fin mounting has been simplified to eliminate the need for folding of the fins. More specifically, the telescopic boom is pivoted adjacent the base of the seat and is connected with the upper portion of the seat by a link having, on one side of the yoke, a bevel gear connection with the outer tube of a boom so that as the boom is swung out through about 45 (or other desired angle) the fins are rotated about 90 to bring them into the desired position for stabilization of the seat.

FIGURE 1 of the drawing is a side view of a preferred embodiment of this invention in which the telescopic boom is pivotally secured to the base of an ejection seat and is shown in its normal or stored position before being deployed.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the outer tube above showing the fins from a position 90 removed from the position from which they are seen in FIG. 1.

In FIGURE 1 the stabilizing boom is pivotally secured to a hinge portion 12 of a seat at and comprises inner and outer telescopic tubes 11 and 13 respectively. A link 14 is pivotally secured at 15 to the upper back portion of the usual encapsulated seat which is to be ejected; at the other end the link 14 is secured to the outer tube 13 through a yoke 21, trunnion 17, and sleeve 16 assembly. The sleeve 16 is axially restrained to the outer tube 13 but is rotatable relative thereto. A bevel gear segment 18 carried by one arm of the yoke 21 engages a cooperating bevel gear 19 secured to the outer tube 13. Pins 20 are secured to the closed end of the outer tube 13.

When the gear segments 18 and 19 are engaged while in the stowed position, boom rotation begins concurrently with tube stroke.

In operation a cartridge or propellant within the inner tube is fired in any convenient manner, causing the boom to elongate with the outer tube 13 moving longitudinally on the inner tube 11. As the outer tube 13 moves outwardly, the link 14 causes the fin end of the boom to be swung away from the back of the seat. As the boom and link move away from the seat, the gear segments 18 and 19 cause the outer tube 13 to be rotated on the inner tube. These segments 18 and 19 are of such size and configuration relative to each other that the outer tube 13 is caused to rotate about moving the fins 20 to their deployed position from that shown in the drawing as the boom is swung out about 45 to its deployed position. The link 14 is also caused to be swung through an appropriate are about the hinge point 15 on the upper back of the seat.

The construction illustrated is much simpler than the closest known prior art in which the fins on the boom are folded for storage and must be opened for use. Here the fins are not folded but must be merely rotated into an operative position during seat ejection.

We claim:

1. In an aircraft ejection seat having at least one telescopic cartridge actuated stabilization boom provided with stabilizing fins adjacent an outer end thereof, said boom including inner and outer telescoping tubes, the combination therewith of the improvement for simplifying the construction of such a boom whereby it is no longer necessary to fold such fins for storage in a compact arrangement, said improvement including one tube of said boom being pivotally secured at a base portion of said seat, a link pivotally secured to an upper end portion of said seat, a sleeve longitudinally fixed to but in which a lower end portion of the second tube may rotate at least to some extent, said fins being secured to an upper end portion of said second tube for Storage gen erally parallel to the back of said seat with said boom upstanding and said fins substantially parallel to said back of the seat, a trunnion and yoke by means of which said link is connected to said sleeve, a bevel gear connection between said link and said lower end portion of said second tube, whereby on extension of said boom said upper end portion of said second tube may be at least partially rotated as said boom is swung away from said seat.

2. A combination according to claim 1 in which said lower end portion of said second tube is both radially and longitudinally the outer tube, and one part of the bevel gear connection is carried by said outer tube and has half the radius of that carried by said link, whereby said fins are turned about 90 as said link and outer tube are swung through about 45.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,806,667 Kugler Sept. '17, 1957 2,829,850 Culver Apr. 8, 1958 2,931,598 Sanctuary Apr. 5, 1960 OTHER REFERENCES Flight Magazine, page 732., May 30, 1958, vol. 73, No. 2575.

Aviation Week Magazine, pages 30, 31, Aug. 26, 1957. 

